Tomorrow I make a decision if I can still stand hearing five letters strung together ....L A U S D. I've been through the ringer in the last three years, trying to start my career as a elementary school teacher, to struggling to keep my career, to getting the boot, to finding happiness in a temporary job as a substitute teacher, to yet another predicament.
The Employment Development Department notified me last week that LAUSD is disputing my unemployment claim. And I quote, "You do know that your previous employer is disputing your claim, right?" Uh, NO! So, tomorrow I have a phone interview/hearing so that I can plea my case to why I deserve to get Unemployment reimbursement.
LAUSD's case is that they are providing me with work as a day to day substitute teacher, therefore I wouldn't need any EDD reimbursement. What kind of (excuse my French) CRAP is that? In May I received another layoff notice (certified mail) notifying me that my long term substitute position won't be extended to the 2010/11 school year. Duh. In addition to the layoff notice, I am on LAUSD's sub list yet haven't had one phone call to substitute this school year. My case is simple, I received a layoff notice and haven't been provided with any day to day work as a sub. period.
If it is that easy tomorrow I will keep my negative view of LAUSD mum for the time being. I've shed too many tears over the last few years because of LAUSD and I realize that I am as meaningless to them as the actual students who occupy their schools. I'm just a stat that they don't want to pay another dime for.
My new life plan is to look for full time work as a full time classroom elementary school teacher while running my own tutoring business. I started this business last school year, I've been on hiatus, but I'm back- in a different city, with no clients, no word of mouth, no pressure. I'm starting with a new blog @ livelearngrowtutoring.blogspot.com that I plan to debut sometime in the next week, I have cute little business cards that I created, and cute community board tear offs to post at local librarys.
Stop by my new elementary education blog. I would be so grateful if you left a comment and/or became a follower. Tomorrow is a new day, a new start to what should have been ended much earlier.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Staycation at The Wild Animal Park
At the beginning of September Tuck and I took a fun day trip to San Diego Wild Animal Park. We were very hesitant because we have a soft spot that makes us want to cry when we see caged animals. Who doesn't? But, we sucked it up and went to the Wild Animal Park because it was initially not created as a zoo but as a breeding and healing sanctuary for endangered and hunted animals in the wild. The exhibits and enclosures are very large, some are acres rather than crowed and relatively roomy. Next time we venture to Escondido we are going to pack a lunch (Pirates Booty was the only G-free food item) and maybe think about going when the temperature is under 90.
Friday, October 1, 2010
A Greater Power
As adults we have a great power to instill equality, peace, love, and acceptance to future generations.
Pass it on.
Ellen did.
Pass it on.
Ellen did.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
With Fall Comes the Fall Line Up
I love my fall shows. I watch too much TV in my down time but I would never miss these shows.
They are recorded on a series just in case.
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| Modern Family |
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| Big Bang Theory |
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| How I Met Your Mother |
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| Dexter |
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| Ellen She makes me laugh! |
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| Regis & Kelly They make me laugh! |
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
While Waiting for Tucker's Post
I promised that Tucker would make a post about the boys' canoe trip in Wyoming. Well, he hasn't done that yet.
While I am waiting for Tucker's post I've been busy doing some other posts on the new blog I am going to start once I get it up and going. It will mainly be for the tutoring business I hope to start running again, but it will also be a blog for elementary education.
I'm not ready to give you the site yet. I'm ready, however, to share a post that I put up last week. It is, of course, about LAUSD. Enjoy:
Los Angeles Unified School District opened its doors to over 700,000 students today. The local news stations portrayed this late school start as joyous and monumental. The late start was do to 14 mandatory furlough days implemented at the end of last school year while other furlough days will be taken throughout the year and for the last week of school. A new complex in downtown housing seven schools with a sticker price of $579 million also opened its glutinous gates with Mac equipped classrooms, state of the art educational supplies, and housing students with the lowest API scores in the nation including a 24% high school drop out rate.
In other times, I would praise new, safe schools. LAUSD's super intendent, Ramon Cortines, was interviewed yesterday morning saying how eager he was and how he made several advancements with a 60 million dollar budget this year, and "the layoffs of thousands of teachers," all said with a kindly smile across his face. I'm sorry but where am I wrong here? A $60 million budget? teacher layoffs? increased class sizes? What Mr. Cortines forgot to mention was: his personal scoffer (district paid), the $250,000 bonus he gave himself last year (after he laid off those thousands of teachers), that teachers at schools with an API scores of 800 or over receive no, I mean no, money for school supplies and spending freezes are placed on the offices of those schools so that no further supplies for the students could be purchased (thank heavens for the PTA), the district purchased a new completely ineffective math program (with many of the developers names being on LAUSD's board of directors), and to top the ice cream Mr. Cortines himself is rarely ever seen at an actual school site to see the real magic happening...learning (unless there is a camera crew or the UTLA is catching him at his latest "improvement").
I could be heavily opinionated on this subject because I was one of the thousands of new, fresh, talented teachers to be laid off. In the classroom, I see eager, sensitive, talented children whose image doesn't match the other side of the coin. Outside of that school safe zone hides villainous, money hungry bureaucrats reaping most, if not all, of the benefits that should be handed down into the classroom. LAUSD has just as much opportunity to excel as any other school district in our nation. Opportunity to excel is a long shot while the 2nd largest school district in the nation is in the hands of the wrong people whose minds are not on the best interest of the students, teachers, school staff, and schools.
While I am waiting for Tucker's post I've been busy doing some other posts on the new blog I am going to start once I get it up and going. It will mainly be for the tutoring business I hope to start running again, but it will also be a blog for elementary education.
I'm not ready to give you the site yet. I'm ready, however, to share a post that I put up last week. It is, of course, about LAUSD. Enjoy:
Caring or Crime: LAUSD Goes Back to School
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| Robert F. Kennedy Education Complex |
Los Angeles Unified School District opened its doors to over 700,000 students today. The local news stations portrayed this late school start as joyous and monumental. The late start was do to 14 mandatory furlough days implemented at the end of last school year while other furlough days will be taken throughout the year and for the last week of school. A new complex in downtown housing seven schools with a sticker price of $579 million also opened its glutinous gates with Mac equipped classrooms, state of the art educational supplies, and housing students with the lowest API scores in the nation including a 24% high school drop out rate.
In other times, I would praise new, safe schools. LAUSD's super intendent, Ramon Cortines, was interviewed yesterday morning saying how eager he was and how he made several advancements with a 60 million dollar budget this year, and "the layoffs of thousands of teachers," all said with a kindly smile across his face. I'm sorry but where am I wrong here? A $60 million budget? teacher layoffs? increased class sizes? What Mr. Cortines forgot to mention was: his personal scoffer (district paid), the $250,000 bonus he gave himself last year (after he laid off those thousands of teachers), that teachers at schools with an API scores of 800 or over receive no, I mean no, money for school supplies and spending freezes are placed on the offices of those schools so that no further supplies for the students could be purchased (thank heavens for the PTA), the district purchased a new completely ineffective math program (with many of the developers names being on LAUSD's board of directors), and to top the ice cream Mr. Cortines himself is rarely ever seen at an actual school site to see the real magic happening...learning (unless there is a camera crew or the UTLA is catching him at his latest "improvement").
I could be heavily opinionated on this subject because I was one of the thousands of new, fresh, talented teachers to be laid off. In the classroom, I see eager, sensitive, talented children whose image doesn't match the other side of the coin. Outside of that school safe zone hides villainous, money hungry bureaucrats reaping most, if not all, of the benefits that should be handed down into the classroom. LAUSD has just as much opportunity to excel as any other school district in our nation. Opportunity to excel is a long shot while the 2nd largest school district in the nation is in the hands of the wrong people whose minds are not on the best interest of the students, teachers, school staff, and schools.
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